"I never saw you. You revealing yourself to me like this is stupid on your part. Do you really think that my brother and I would go anywhere without protection?"

He withdraws his gun and points it at me. "The names, Orion, bitch." He squeezes the trigger and I shut my eyes, holding onto my brother.

I hear two gunshots. I peel my eyes open and look at Nate and myself.

We're fine.

***

When I look over at Jai he's slumped over in his chair. I climb out of my seat and walk over to him. "Jai?"

He doesn't reply.

I lift his head and pull open his shirt. I see that he's wearing a vest. I slap the back on his head. "Wake up, Jai." I pull the shirt off a bit more and see the bullet embedded in the vest.

He slowly opens his eyes. "Chloe,"

Good, he's alright. How did he know that he should wear a vest today?

Jai pulls me into his lap. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I was worried about. You were slumped over in your seat." I look where Orion was standing and see my cousin there with his gun drawn. "Why did you wear a vest, Jai?"

He looks at my cousin. "Carter called last night and told me that someone was following us and he was worried that the person was going to make a move today. He told me that I should wear a best in case his instinct was right. It was right, Carter."

Carter moves over to the table and he looks at Nate and me. "Are you alright?"

I nod. "How did you know this might happen, Carter?"

He moves over to the chair next to Nate and he looks at me. "I had to keep my distance from you as I knew there was a chance someone would come after you. I kept a close eye on the group that murdered your parents and I have been taking them out one by one. This guy was the last one on my list." Carter turns his attention to Nate. "Happy Birthday, Cuz. I got you something, but it's in the car."

The police show up fifteen minutes later, and they interview everyone that was at the restaurant.

An officer reads the Miranda rights to Carter as he cuffs him. He leads him to the car.

I yell. "We'll get you out."

This isn't the way I saw my brother's birthday going. He deserved to have a great day, instead, this happens. It's going to be a birthday he never forgets.

His next Birthday should be better as he will be in university and he'll celebrate with his friends.

Jai looks at me. "You're not going with us to the station. I want you to relax here for a while and then we're going to spend the night at a hotel and leave early in the morning." He turns to Nate. "Do you want to come with me, or stay here with, Chloe?"

"I'll come with you. I haven't been in a police station before and I would love to see what it looks like." Nate climbs into the car.

Jai pulls the window down and stops next to me. "Get some rest, Chloe. We'll be back as soon as we can." He drives away leaving a trail of dust behind.

I walk back into the building and make my way to the room. I open the door and climb into bed. I fall asleep.

***

The door to the room opens and I hear someone say. "Don't wake her up. Help me pack our bags and take them to the cars." Draws open and close. Then I hear bags zipping up and then I'm being lifted into someone's arms.

I open my eyes and look at Jai. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to the car, but since you're now awake do you want to walk?" I nod and he puts me down. "Carter got released, but he has to stay in San Fransisco until the court hearing. We will have to travel here for the hearing and give our statements. Carter's pleading not guilty. He told them it was self-defence as he was protecting us."

"Did you give the police the evidence that was in your vest?"

He nods. "I gave it to them. That's the reason why they let Carter go. Carter's going to meet us at the hotel."

Jai takes my hand and we walk to the car. He throws a pair of keys at Nate. "You can drive my car."

"Yes," Nate yells climbing into the car. "This is the best birthday present ever. Being able to drive a fast car that my soon to be brother in law drives." He starts the car and the engine purrs. He reverses out of the parking spot and looks at me. "Hurry up. I want to drive this through the streets of San Fran. I hope that we can go up and down hills to get to the hotel."

Jai walks over to the passenger side door and he opens it for me. He waits for me to climb inside before he shuts the door and climbs into the driver's seat. He pulls out of the parking spot and Nate follows him closely.

I look out the window as we drive out of Camp Tranquility and make our way to the City. I turn the radio on and I begin to sing along to one of Sia's songs that are playing on the radio. I start to feel queasy and I pull out some crackers from my bag and start eating.

Jai looks at me. "We should stop somewhere and get some food. I need to take better care of you."

I turn towards him. "You don't need to take care of me, Jai. I can do that myself, but can we stop somewhere that sells proper burgers, not processed shit that McDonald's tried to pass off as burgers."

Jai smiles. "I know the perfect place to go to." He gives me his phone. "Can you call Nate and put the phone on loudspeaker. So, I can talk to him."

I call my brother.

I laugh.

A couple of minutes later, the car pulls into a parking lot outside a restaurant. The sign above the door reads "Maggie's" in light purple neon lights. There are candles on the tables that are close to the window.

Jai takes my hand and we walk to the doors. He opens the door and lets me enter first. Nate and he entered the restaurant behind me.

A waitress looks at Jai and Nate. She wipes her hand on her apron and a smile spreads across her face. "Welcome to Maggie's I'm Brie. Do you have a reservation?"

"No, we don't." He takes a step toward her. "Is Maggie here?"

"Yes,"

"Can you get her for me? I need to talk to her."

"Okay,"

The waitress walks away. She enters the kitchen and a couple of minutes later an older woman exits the kitchen with Brie. They walk over to us.

Jai walks over to the older woman. "Maggie," he gives her a hug.

A smile spreads across her. "Jai, it's been a while since you've been here. What brings you to San Francisco?"

Jai reaches out for me and he pulls me into his side. "This is Chloe. She's my fiancé." He kisses my cheek.

Maggie hugs me. "She's so beautiful. You're mother told me that you were with a good woman and I'm glad you found that with Chloe." She lets me go and looks behind me. "You must be Nate. I've heard heaps about you from Veronica and Ricky too. I will show you to a table."

We follow Maggie to a table in the back of the restaurant. There's a sign on the table with VIP on it. "Do you know what you want to eat?"

"I'll have a burger, please."

Nate and Jai order the same.

***